VOA Board of Directors Meeting January 4 2022 Summary amp Comments

[Bruce H.]

By: Bob Bierman, Western Reserve & Bruce Hadfield, Ontario Region

This summary is intended to give the reader a general understanding of the scope of topics and discussions that took place during this first BOD meeting with the 2022-23 national executive officers. The meeting was intended to layout the plan of how National and the BOD will be organized to problem solve the enormous club challenges. Here we go…

VOA Officer Introductions:

Mike Kuchavik, new VOA National President…Wes Frasard, new Vice President…Ed Massena, Secretary…Matt Altomare, as new Co-Treasurer, and Joe Boscio, Co-Treasurer

BOD members:

There were 20 regions represented by their presidents or an alternate, the 5 officers listed above, with no others persons present in this closed meeting. Regions represented were:

Alabama/Tenn, Arizona, Capital Vipers, Carolinas, Colorado/MT/UT/WY, Florida South, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana/Kentucky, Midsouth, MCVO, New England, New Jersey, New York/CT, Oklahoma, St. Louis, Texas-Houston, Texas-North, Western Reserve, West Virginia/PA, Ontario

The following is a summary of the meeting:

Officer’s Responsibilities:

Operations – Mike and Ed… Financial – Wes, Joe and Matt

Finance Presentation:

Wes discussed an overview of the intensive revenue and cost analysis he has prepared for budget purposes and a summary slide presentation will be posted below. The key take-away is that based on the Jan. 3, 2022 membership renewals totaling 879, that there would be a shortfall of $4,800, with just another 65 members needed to balance the budget at 944, which should be fairly quickly realized.

The final 2022 budget will be prepared using membership numbers as of Jan 25th, and the BOD will be asked to vote on it in the Feb 1st BOD. The budget will be provided to all members on Jan. 25th to carefully review and ask for clarification before voting. The budget will then be revised quarterly to account for increases in membership and other revenues, and for any other required changes. We will now be reporting on every BOD meeting.

There is expected to be a 2022 budget surplus once membership grows beyond the next 65. The budget will be balanced using membership revenue alone, possibly for the first time ever, and does not require sponsorship and other revenues to do so. Securing of significant sponsorships is also under way. All surpluses are expected to be used to establish cash reserves, perhaps as much as $50,000 or more. With the establishment of reasonable cash reserves, repayment of the $175k loan will begin in 2023.

Planning Presentation:

Mike discussed the important first steps of adding Matt as co-treasurer to handle 2022 so Joe can focus on previous years after closing out 2021, the creation of a Membership and Regional Development committee, and Operations and Finance committees to tackle challenges in each of those areas. Committee members are currently being selected.

A 90 Day schedule of meetings was created so all presidents can plan to attend the monthly BOD meetings, committee members theirs, and with all presidents invited to sit in on any of the committee meetings they’d like to stay informed. It’s an ambitious schedule with one meeting every Tuesday evening for the next 3 months.

Goals for the first 6 months were then outlined.

Operations was broken down into BOD, core club services, website & social media, and events categories, with functions of each identified.

- - - Updated - - -

Q & A Session

A wide range of topics were addressed including…

That BOD meeting minutes will be made public.

Improved communications and transparency is a priority, and a communications team was immediately established, made up initially with Bob Bierman from Western Reserve and Bruce Hadfield from Ontario.

All of the US region’s presidents have renewed for 2022, which is great, but 4 international regions have not at this time.

The possibility of creating additional types of membership to appeal to more owners, including a very basic and low-cost option, and magazine only membership level, and these have already been under consideration and that will continue.

The UK’s suggestion of a 12 month instead of calendar year membership is going to be looked into to see if that can be accommodated.

Membership 2022 renewals to date were discussed, and while below 2021, that was not surprising, all things considered. Renewals were down about 200 as of Dec. 31st (approx. 850 vs 1050). Last year’s renewals were about 1300 by March 31st, and anticipate a fairly similar trend to this year.

Viper Quarterly, where it is broadly recognized to be an important and valued club benefit to many members, and the single largest expense. The Operations committee is charged with proposing changes to the way it is offered and funded in order to prevent it from being a burden on club finances. One option under consideration is to change it to a paid subscription so those who would like a printed or e-mag could purchase those options, while those who didn’t would not be paying for it as part of their membership dues, thereby allowing for a basic and low-cost membership level and direct connection between dues paid and benefits received.

There was some uncertainty as to what amount of 2022 dues will be paid to the regions, which was confirmed to be $55 from both Standard and Mamba membership dues.

It was noted that many regions were not represented in this BOD meeting. The importance of full participation was discussed, and it many impacts on their regional membership and the VOA. If a president is unable to attend a meeting, or any of the meetings, another region officer or alternate should be chosen to represent that region.

NVE 5 was discussed, and whether we have the ability to budget funds for it, which there is not at present. Also, whether it was too financially risky for the VOA to commit to it at this time. An NVE committee will be formed to make recommendations before the next $10K venue deposit is required in September ‘22. The VOA has already paid $20K in deposits to hold hotel rooms, and another $10k isn’t in the budget currently. There were around 100 registration refunds made for NVE 4 Miami due to the pandemic, and it’s impossible to predict what conditions will be like in Sept 2023. The suggestion was made to open NVE 5 registrations early in order to collect the funds needed to meet the schedule of deposits required, and that will be considered and recommendations made.

There will be no further deposits paid without approval. These events are broadly considered to be a major appeal and benefit to the club, but need to be very carefully planned to ensure they won’t be a burden to club finances.

General Comments

This was a very well organized and run meeting. The level of preparation was impressive, particularly with respect to the granular detail used in creating the preliminary 2022 budget used for discussion purposes. We look forward to seeing the actual 2022 budget at our next BOD meeting on February 1st and we hope all regions will be represented then as well.

There was a sense of strong cooperation, unity, determination and optimism among members.

With the participation of all regions working together, the payoff will be a healthy club that’s built to run lean and mean, to dramatically increase in size, and ready to serve the on-going social and resource needs of Viper owners everywhere.

That’s the shared belief and vision for the VOA. We hope that this meeting report will help inform VOA members, forum enthusiasts and guests, and encourage others to join the effort however they can!

Bruce Hadfield & Bob Bierman

[Bruce H.]

Click on this link to view the slide presentation.

VOA BOD January 2022 Slide Presentation.pdf

[Viperenvy]

Bruce and Bob-

Thank you for the time you put in. Taking notes isn't easy, writing note/minutes is difficult, and takes many hours of wordsmithing. Ask any competent project manager.


My takeaway - 944 members is the breakeven!! WOW, we are at 926. If I was really interested, which I am not, I'd love to go back in time to see the doom and gloom projections. Funny how positive outcomes happen when people become part of the solution by working.


Great work Wes!! I enjoyed my first BOD meeting by not attending

[CarolinaViper]

Bruce and Bob-

Thank you for the time you put in. Taking notes isn't easy, writing note/minutes is difficult, and takes many hours of wordsmithing. Ask any competent project manager.


My takeaway - 944 members is the breakeven!! WOW, we are at 926. If I was really interested, which I am not, I'd love to go back in time to see the doom and gloom projections. Funny how positive outcomes happen when people become part of the solution by working.


Great work Wes!! I enjoyed my first BOD meeting by not attending

Wow, six days and not bankrupt yet...looking great. The goal should be to have increased membership not a decrease one of about 46 percent.

[Viperenvy]

Wow, six days and not bankrupt yet...looking great.

A better profile picture ....

CarolinaViper.JPG

[CarolinaViper]

A better profile picture ....

CarolinaViper.JPG

Is your first name "Jack"

[Rocket]

Appreciate the effort. Break even is a funny term with a $175k loan hanging overhead.

So if I'm reading this correctly, none of the $175k loan for expenses incurred from 2020-2021 is being paid in 2022? And (new) members who join in 2023 and beyond are going to be asked to help pay for the loan that they had nothing to do with and received ZERO benefit from?

[13COBRA]

Appreciate the effort. Break even is a funny term with a $175k loan hanging overhead.

So if I'm reading this correctly, none of the $175k loan for expenses incurred from 2020-2021 is being paid in 2022? And (new) members who join in 2023 and beyond are going to be asked to help pay for the loan that they had nothing to do with and received ZERO benefit from?

VOA National: "We hear what you're saying, and we're being as transparent as virtually possible. We don't see it the same way you do. Join up, give us your money, let us show you the way."

[daveg]

Bruce,
Thanks for the small Tome. I am constantly in meetings within my job and I know its not easy and very time consuming to do what your doing.

I have 2 questions.

1) Are regional presidents "encouraged" to reach out to their members during these meetings to disseminate information (like you are) either by e-mailing or some other means? Lets face it, the only reason I know what's going on is from these forums and certain people like yourself disclosing it.

2) May have missed, sorry but as far as the 175k that was borrowed, was all that money already spent OR is there some left over sitting somewhere.

Thanks again,
David.

[V10Sidepipes]

While I definitely appreciate the effort in compiling all of this for us, shouldn’t that be a responsibility of the elected Secretary?

Why does it seem like the vast majority of the elected are hiding in their echo chambers? We were told in 2021 that the 2021 officers didn’t want to comment because the 2022 were coming on and the 2022 officers didn’t want to comment because they didn’t want to step on 2021 toes…

[Drummerviper]

Just curious. Was Maurice in the meeting? Why is loan seemingly ignored? Assuming the magazine is still in play (head slap) did anyone suggest putting it up for bid? Finally, with the very future of this club on the line did anyone suggest that of all meetings this one should be open? Someone turn off the lights.

[01sapphirebob]

Appreciate the effort. Break even is a funny term with a $175k loan hanging overhead.

So if I'm reading this correctly, none of the $175k loan for expenses incurred from 2020-2021 is being paid in 2022? And (new) members who join in 2023 and beyond are going to be asked to help pay for the loan that they had nothing to do with and received ZERO benefit from?

This was a question I asked during the meeting but At this time there isn't a plan to start paying on the loan in 2022. However, lots of meetings will be happening over the next few months and Im sure this will be brought up again. As mentioned up above, we are not far off from our “break even” number. Once we're over that everything else is gravy. There is talk of making sure we have rainy day funds on hand but also, nothing is stopping us from putting the funds towards the loan. Something I know I would like to see happen.

The wheels are starting to spin and we have a lot of motivated people on board. More would be better but, its a start.

[BlknBlu]

I like the idea of a magazine membership to assist in raising money and to have enthusiasts looking to BUY a car as a dream they have had for years assist in making a decision and being somewhat of a part of the club with some skin in the game. Could also make the magazine an ala cart item with membership.

I am a bit more optimistic than a month ago. Keep up the good information

Bruce

[Bruce H.]

So if I'm reading this correctly, none of the $175k loan for expenses incurred from 2020-2021 is being paid in 2022? And (new) members who join in 2023 and beyond are going to be asked to help pay for the loan that they had nothing to do with and received ZERO benefit from?

All of the 2020-2021 invoices are being paid from the $175k loan. Almost all of the loan has been used to pay them, and there are only minor invoices left.

No 2022 renewal funds are being used for 2020-2021 bills, and no 2023 renewal funds will be used to pay anything from 2022. The preliminary budget slide shown is showing 2022 revenues and expenses only, no borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. That was the mandate for the 2022 budget, and 2022 will be operated within it.

VOA National: "We hear what you're saying, and we're being as transparent as virtually possible. We don't see it the same way you do. Join up, give us your money, let us show you the way."

I don't believe you're likely to read that on the forum from the 2022-23 leadership team, and you'll never read it from me. If people choose to join or renew it will be because we've earned their trust and we're providing a value proposition. I wouldn't expect anyone to join otherwise.

Bruce,
Thanks for the small Tome. I am constantly in meetings within my job and I know its not easy and very time consuming to do what your doing.

I have 2 questions.

1) Are regional presidents "encouraged" to reach out to their members during these meetings to disseminate information (like you are) either by e-mailing or some other means? Lets face it, the only reason I know what's going on is from these forums and certain people like yourself disclosing it.

2) May have missed, sorry but as far as the 175k that was borrowed, was all that money already spent OR is there some left over sitting somewhere.

Thanks again,
David.

Thanks Dave, it's a labor of love! I don't actually recall that recommendation being made, but it would have been a good. Around 10:30 I can tell you we were all pretty beat. I can tell you that we are very aware that communications have been lacking at all levels, and there will be something going out to all members fairly soon. And the $175K is just covering all 2020-21 debt.

While I definitely appreciate the effort in compiling all of this for us, shouldn’t that be a responsibility of the elected Secretary?

Why does it seem like the vast majority of the elected are hiding in their echo chambers? We were told in 2021 that the 2021 officers didn’t want to comment because the 2022 were coming on and the 2022 officers didn’t want to comment because they didn’t want to step on 2021 toes…

The Secretary is preparing actual meeting minutes from an audio recording of the meeting, and was hoping to start doing that today. This is a meeting summary that contains everything Bob and I noted and could remember, along with our general comments about the meeting. We wanted to get it to the membership quickly. The formal minutes will reflect much of what we covered here, but I didn't know if it will include the slides and other details. Edit, added...not wanting to step on toes did affect Mike for sure, and Wes, the new officer, did post about finances extensively. And the treasurers were sequestered by design to stay on their enormous task.

Just curious. Was Maurice in the meeting? Why is loan seemingly ignored? Assuming the magazine is still in play (head slap) did anyone suggest putting it up for bid? Finally, with the very future of this club on the line did anyone suggest that of all meetings this one should be open? Someone turn off the lights.

Maurice was not in this meeting, nor any other past presidents...strictly the 2022-23 executive and BOD made of region presidents. The loan wasn't ignored..."With the establishment of reasonable cash reserves, repayment of the $175k loan will begin in 2023". There has been an enormous amount of work and progress related to magazine costs, and we're looking forward to making decisions that should satisfy everyone. The future of the club is no longer on the line, the only unknown is the speed with which we can retire the loan. The death of the VOA has definitely been greatly exaggerated. The lights are staying on, but the bulbs have all been changed to high-efficiency, just like everything else being done!

[Bruce H.]

I like the idea of a magazine membership to assist in raising money and to have enthusiasts looking to BUY a car as a dream they have had for years assist in making a decision and being somewhat of a part of the club with some skin in the game. Could also make the magazine an ala cart item with membership.

I am a bit more optimistic than a month ago. Keep up the good information
Bruce

Thank you, and very glad to hear that! VQ has to go through Finance and Operation committees first, and then to the BOD, which they're hoping to do for April.

[stevert]

Thanks Bruce!

[Rocket]

YIKES! All of the loan has been used? It'll be interesting to see real numbers/budgets etc.

All of the 2020-2021 invoices are being paid from the $175k loan. Almost all of the loan has been used to pay them, and there are only minor invoices left.

No 2022 renewal funds are being used for 2020-2021 bills, and no 2023 renewal funds will be used to pay anything from 2022. The preliminary budget slide shown is showing 2022 revenues and expenses only, no borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. That was the mandate for the 2022 budget, and 2022 will be operated within it.

[Bruce H.]

YIKES! All of the loan has been used? It'll be interesting to see real numbers/budgets etc.

the loan will be by the time the last payments are made, which I believe are final payments to international regions after a shortfall to them was discovered. There were invoice reductions negotiated and other savings in the neighborhood of close to $50K iirc that reduced debt so that all could be covered by the $175K loan without touching 2022 renewal revenue. That was actually a huge accomplishment achieved by our new VP, Wes Frasard.

[Viper98]

A negotiated debt drop of almost $50K is an excellent start.
Way to go Wes!
Good job!

[Rocket]

So if I'm reading this correctly, the actual debt was closer to $225K? What was negotiated down - and was that just covering up someone's faux pas?

Again real numbers, real expenses, how much of a shortfall was caused by NVE, and real budgets would go a long way to building trust. I ask about NVE as how can the membership sign off on things without understanding real numbers. When I saw a number of $75K floated out there for (partial) track expenses at the last NVE - for what 100 people that used the track - that alone amounted to more than the cost to attend NVE.

the loan will be by the time the last payments are made, which I believe are final payments to international regions after a shortfall to them was discovered. There were invoice reductions negotiated and other savings in the neighborhood of close to $50K iirc that reduced debt so that all could be covered by the $175K loan without touching 2022 renewal revenue. That was actually a huge accomplishment achieved by our new VP, Wes Frasard.

[Bruce H.]

So if I'm reading this correctly, the actual debt was closer to $225K? What was negotiated down - and was that just covering up someone's faux pas?

Again real numbers, real expenses, how much of a shortfall was caused by NVE, and real budgets would go a long way to building trust. I ask about NVE as how can the membership sign off on things without understanding real numbers. When I saw a number of $75K floated out there for (partial) track expenses at the last NVE - for what 100 people that used the track - that alone amounted to more than the cost to attend NVE.

You're on the right track, but I'm unable to answer this accurately. It was not detailed as part of this meeting discussion, but I will try to find out. Your concern about track expenses are valid and will definitely be reviewed in future NVE planning.

[Bruce H.]

While I definitely appreciate the effort in compiling all of this for us, shouldn’t that be a responsibility of the elected Secretary?

Update...the Secretary has prepared formal meeting minutes and they were distributed to all presidents yesterday (Sat 1/8, 3pm) for their approval. A 50% +1 approval is required to accept the minutes and post them. As of this evening (Sun 1/9, 8 pm) 12 responses had been received (all accepted). Hopefully the rest will be received shortly so we can post the official minutes.

You're on the right track, but I'm unable to answer this accurately. It was not detailed as part of this meeting discussion, but I will try to find out. Your concern about track expenses are valid and will definitely be reviewed in future NVE planning.

Update...the savings on actual and projected expenses are expected to be $48,540. Two vendor invoices were reduced by $20,040. Projected magazine expenses to Dec 31st were estimated to be reduced by $28.5K, and can be confirmed after a BOD vote at the Feb 1st BOD meeting .

[WDW MKR]

I like the idea of separating the magazine from membership dues and requiring a subscription. It will never be clear for many of us that dues are being used responsibly until the overpriced and underwhelming magazine is separated from club finances. It can then stand under its own weight if there is sufficient interest.

Also, NVE is referenced by the minutes as “a major appeal and benefit”… how many attendees have there been, on average, compared to total membership? Good to hear that dues will not be used for the event.

[Roller]

Agree 100 %

[Bruce H.]

I like the idea of separating the magazine from membership dues and requiring a subscription. It will never be clear for many of us that dues are being used responsibly until the overpriced and underwhelming magazine is separated from club finances. It can then stand under its own weight if there is sufficient interest.

Also, NVE is referenced by the minutes as “a major appeal and benefit”… how many attendees have there been, on average, compared to total membership? Good to hear that dues will not be used for the event.

Agreed on the magazine, and it will be entirely paid for by those who choose to receive it.

The magazine and NVE are both major appeals, and perhaps the key appeals to many VOA members. Moving NVE's locations from east to west and north to south geographically gives more access to more members, but in any given year it's obviously going to be a fairly small percentage...and that's to be expected.

The important thing is that those who do enjoy it are the ones paying for it...and they definitely will be. Hopefully more of those who haven't experienced an NVE will at some point!